Delhi Capitals

The Delhi Capitals are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Delhi. They play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is a very popular cricket league in India. The team used to be called the Delhi Daredevils, but they changed their name to Delhi Capitals.

The Delhi Capitals are owned by two big companies: the GMR Group and JSW Sports. Their home ground is Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, where they play most of their matches.

Axar Patel is the captain of the team, meaning he is the main player who helps make decisions during the game. Hemang Badani is the coach, and he helps guide the players and plan their strategies.

In 2020, the Delhi Capitals reached their first ever IPL final, where they played against the Mumbai Indians. This was a big moment for the team and its fans.

Franchise history

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a cricket league organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and supported by the International Cricket Council. It began in 2008 with eight teams from different Indian cities, including Delhi. The Delhi team was bought by the GMR Group for US$84 million.

In 2018, GMR sold half of the team to JSW Sports. Later that year, the team changed its name from the Delhi Daredevils to the Delhi Capitals. The new name reflects Delhi’s role as the country’s capital. In 2024, the team agreed to buy a cricket club in England.

Ownership

The Delhi Capitals is owned by JSW GMR Cricket Pvt. Ltd. (JGCPL), which is a 50:50 joint venture between the GMR Sports and JSW Sports, the sports arms of the GMR Group and JSW Group respectively.

The team started in 2008 as the Delhi Daredevils, after the GMR Group won the rights to run the team. In March 2018, JSW Sports bought a 50% share in the team for ₹550 crore (about US$84.5 million). Because of this, the team changed its name to the Delhi Capitals in December 2018.

In late 2024, the owners made a new plan for running the team. For the 2025 and 2026 seasons, the GMR Group looks after the Indian Premier League team, while the JSW Group looks after the Women's Premier League team. In 2027, these roles will switch.

Seasons history

2008 IPL

Main article: 2008 Delhi Daredevils season

In the first IPL season, the Delhi Daredevils won their first two games against the Rajasthan Royals and the Deccan Chargers. After a loss to the Kings XI Punjab, they won again against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Chennai Super Kings.^{[citation needed]}

But then, they lost four games in a row. They broke this streak with a win against the Deccan Chargers. After another loss to the Kings XI Punjab, they won three games and finished in the top four of the league.

The Delhi Daredevils lost to the Rajasthan Royals, who became champions, in the semi-final.

2009 IPL

Main article: 2009 Delhi Daredevils season

The Daredevils did very well in the 2009 IPL season under captain Gautam Gambhir, finishing at the top of the table. Players like Virender Sehwag and Gambhir had improved since the last season. They scored big runs, with South African player AB de Villiers hitting one of only two big scores in the 2009 IPL (the other was by Manish Pandey). The team's bowlers included Daniel Vettori from New Zealand, Amit Mishra from India, Pradeep Sangwan, and Ashish Nehra from India. They also added Australian Dirk Nannes, making a strong bowling team. The batters included Sehwag, Gambhir, Dilshan, AB de Villiers, and Manoj Tiwary. New players like Australian captain Aaron Finch and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell also joined and later became successful.

But even though they finished first in the regular season, the Daredevils lost in the semi-final. Adam Gilchrist from the Deccan Chargers scored very quickly, and the Daredevils could not win. This meant they did not reach the final of the 2009 IPL season. However, they did qualify for the 2009 Champions League Twenty20 because of their performance.

2012 IPL

Main article: 2012 Delhi Daredevils season

Because the Kochi Tuskers Kerala team was disbanded, each team played the other eight teams twice. So each team played 16 matches.

In the 2012 IPL season, the Delhi Daredevils came back strong after a weak performance in 2011. They added players like Kevin Pietersen from England, Mahela Jayawardene from Sri Lanka, and Ross Taylor from New Zealand. They finished first in the points table with the Kolkata Knight Riders second, Mumbai Indians third, and the Chennai Super Kings fourth, and also qualified for the Champions League Twenty20 in 2012 held in South Africa.

Australian bowler Glenn McGrath was unhappy about not playing any matches during the season and stopped playing for Delhi.

Mahela Jayawardene became the new captain of the Delhi Daredevils after Virender Sehwag stepped down during the 2012 Champions League Twenty20.

2013 IPL

Main article: 2013 Delhi Daredevils season

Delhi Daredevils lost their first six games of IPL 2013 and won their first game in their seventh match against the Mumbai Indians. Virender Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene led them to a win against the Mumbai Indians, scoring 161 runs. Sehwag was chosen as the "Man of the Match" for scoring 95* from 57 balls. After this, they played the Kings XI Punjab and lost again. But in their ninth game against the Pune Warriors India, they won, moving to eighth place in the points table. They beat the Kolkata Knight Riders in their tenth game but did not move up because of their net run rate. In their next game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Delhi Daredevils were bowled out for only 80 runs, and the Sunrisers won. In their game against the Rajasthan Royals, they scored 154 runs, but the Rajasthan Royals chased it down with only one wicket lost. This loss officially eliminated them from the 2013 season.

In their next game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi held them to 106 in 16 overs, but Bangalore scored 77 in the last 4 overs and reached 183, thanks to a score of 99 by their captain Virat Kohli. The Daredevils lost by four runs. They then played the Chennai Super Kings, who scored 168. Delhi lost by 33 runs. The next game was against the Kings XI Punjab, who defeated them by seven runs. Their final game was against the Pune Warriors India. Delhi bowled first and the Pune Warriors scored 171. In the second innings, Delhi lost quick wickets and could not chase the target, losing by 38 runs and finishing last in the league table. Despite a poor season, some well-known players joined the support staff. Sir Vivian Richards from the West Indies became their new brand ambassador, Jeremy Snape from England joined the support staff, and former Pakistan spinner Mushtaq Ahmed became their new spin bowling coach.

2014 IPL

Main article: 2014 Delhi Daredevils season

Before the IPL 2014 auction on 10 January 2014, the Delhi Daredevils said they would not keep any players from their current squad for season seven. They had three "right-to-match" cards and Rs 600 million (about US$9.6 million) to spend.

The Delhi Daredevils had another weak season in 2014. They lost their first game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, but won their next against the Kolkata Knight Riders. This was followed by a loss against the Chennai Super Kings and a close loss against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Delhi Daredevils won their next game against the Mumbai Indians, holding them to 125. Later, when the tournament moved from a temporary venue in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to India, Delhi lost nine games in a row. The Delhi Daredevils won only two of their fourteen games, both in the UAE. Even though they did poorly, South African all-rounder JP Duminy, the team captain, scored 410 runs from 14 matches and was the eighth highest run-scorer in the tournament. The Delhi Daredevils finished last again.

2015 IPL

Main article: 2015 Delhi Daredevils season

The team finished seventh in the 2015 IPL. They faced strong criticism from Delhi fans because of their poor performances in the previous two years.

2016 IPL

Main article: 2016 Delhi Daredevils season

The Delhi Daredevils let go of many players, including the previous year's most expensive purchase, all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, whom they had bought for ₹16 crores. They also released Angelo Mathews from Sri Lanka, bought for ₹7.5 crores. New players included all-rounder Pawan Negi, bought for ₹8.5 crores, making him the most expensive Indian player in the 2016 IPL auction. Batter Sanju Samson and Karun Nair also joined. South African all-rounder Chris Morris was bought for ₹7 crores. English keeper Sam Billings and Australian Joel Paris also joined. The team added three promising India U-19 players—local keeper Rishabh Pant, pacer Khaleel Ahmed from Rajasthan, and Mahipal Lomror. After working with South African batter Gary Kirsten, they hired Paddy Upton as head coach. Indian batter and India U-19 coach Rahul Dravid became the Daredevils' batting mentor. Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan was named captain for the 2016 IPL season. Compared to the past three seasons, the Delhi Daredevils played better. Chris Morris scored the fastest 50 of the tournament (17 balls) and was also good with bowling. Wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock from South Africa was among the top run-scorers. After losing their first game against the Kolkata Knight Riders, the Daredevils beat the Kings XI Punjab, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders again, and newcomers the Gujarat Lions. They won 5 of their first 7 games, earning 10 points. They lost their second game against the Gujarat Lions by just one run. The Daredevils were expected to reach the playoffs, but they finished sixth with fourteen points from fourteen games.

2017 IPL

Main article: 2017 Delhi Daredevils season

Delhi lost South Africans de Kock and Duminy before the tournament, relying on a young batting line-up and a bowling line-up including Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Shami, Chris Morris, Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Shahbaz Nadeem, Jayant Yadav, and Ben Hilfenhaus. They lost to RCB in the first game but won against RPS and KXIP. After that, they lost five games in a row. However, they came back by chasing 189 and 214 against SRH and GL. Wicket-keeper Sanju Samson scored the first century of the season. Young wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant scored 97 against GL. But the Delhi Daredevils lost to MI by 146 runs, the highest win by runs in IPL history. During the middle of the tournament, captain Zaheer Khan missed three matches because of a hamstring injury, and young batter Karun Nair became stand-in captain.

The Delhi Daredevils finished sixth again with six wins (+12 points) and eight losses.

2018 IPL

Main article: 2018 Delhi Daredevils season

Before the auctions, each team could keep up to three players and use Right to Match cards to get back two players. Delhi Daredevils kept Shreyas Iyer, Chris Morris, and Rishabh Pant. Coach Rahul Dravid had to leave because of a conflict of interest debate with coaching India A and India U-19. Ricky Ponting became the new coach.

2019 IPL

Main article: 2019 Delhi Capitals season

The Delhi Capitals kept 14 players and traded opener Shikhar Dhawan from Sunrisers Hyderabad, giving up all-rounder Vijay Shankar, Abhishek Sharma, and spinner Shahbaz Nadeem. The kept players were captain Shreyas Iyer, wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, batter Prithvi Shaw, spinner Amit Mishra, pacer Avesh Khan, bowler Harshal Patel, all-rounder Rahul Tewatia, Jayant Yadav, Manjot Kalra, New Zealand opener Colin Munro, New Zealand pacer Trent Boult, all-rounder Chris Morris, pacer Kagiso Rabada, and spinner Sandeep Lamichhane.

On auction day, December 18, 2018, DC filled their 10 player slots (seven Indian and three overseas) with: Colin Ingram, Axar Patel, Hanuma Vihari, Sherfane Rutherford, Ishant Sharma, Keemo Paul, and uncapped Indian cricketers Jalaj Saxena, Ankush Bains, Nathu Singh, and Bandaru Ayyappa.

Delhi Capitals also hired former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly as their official advisor and later traded Jayant Yadav to the Mumbai Indians after the IPL 2019 auction.

The Capitals started with a 37-run win over Mumbai. They reached the playoffs after seven years and won their first playoff match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad by two wickets. They lost the second match against the Chennai Super Kings by six wickets and finished second in the playoffs, their best ever.

2020 IPL

Main article: 2020 Delhi Capitals season

Delhi Capitals released Hanuma Vihari, Jalaj Saxena, Manjot Kalra, Ankush Bains, Nathu Singh, Bandaru Ayappa, Chris Morris, Colin Ingram, and Colin Munro. They added Jason Roy, Chris Woakes, Alex Carey, Shimron Hetmyer, Mohit Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Marcus Stoinis, and Lalit Yadav. Chris Woakes pulled out and was replaced by Anrich Nortje. Jason Roy also pulled out and was replaced by Daniel Sams.

The team started well, winning 7 of the first 9 games. But four losses in a row put them in danger of missing the playoffs. However, they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last game and finished second in the league stage. A win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 took them to the finals for the first time in IPL history. In the finals, they lost to Mumbai Indians, the only team Delhi did not beat in the tournament despite playing them 4 times. This was Delhi Capitals' most successful IPL season. All games were in the UAE.

2021 IPL

Main article: 2021 Delhi Capitals season

The 2021 IPL season was in India. All teams played at neutral venues. On March 30, 2021, Delhi Capitals made Steve Smith captain after Shreyas Iyer injured his shoulder. Delhi Capitals played 3 matches at the Wankhede Stadium, then 2 in Chennai, 4 in Ahmedabad, and 5 in Kolkata. They won 6 of 8 matches and were top of the points table before the season was stopped because of COVID-19 cases in some teams' bio bubbles. On May 4, the tournament was stopped. On May 29, the BCCI said the rest of the matches would be in the United Arab Emirates in September and October 2021. The schedule came out in July 2021.

2022 IPL

Main article: 2022 Delhi Capitals season

2023 IPL

The Delhi Capitals named David Warner captain for the 2023 season, with Axar Patel as vice-captain, after Rishabh Pant was injured.

Delhi did not make the playoffs in the 2023 IPL, finishing 9th with 5 wins and 9 losses.

Players like Prithvi Shaw, Axar Patel, and Mitchell Marsh struggled with form. Bowlers also did not perform well all season.

2024 IPL

Main article: 2024 Delhi Capitals season

2025 IPL

Delhi Capitals finished 5th in IPL 2025, with 7 wins, 6 losses from 13 matches, and one game with no result. The no-result game against PBKS was due to a floodlight failure, but many thought it was because of Indian tensions with Pakistan near Dharamshala.

Home ground

The Delhi Capitals play their home matches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Since 2024, they also use the ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam as another home ground. They had another stadium called the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur, but they haven’t played there since 2016.

Players

Main article: List of Delhi Capitals cricketers

The Delhi Capitals have had many famous players over the years. Early leaders included Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. The team has also featured players from around the world, like David Warner from Australia and AB de Villiers from South Africa.

In recent years, the team has been led by players such as Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant. The team includes both young Indian stars and international cricket stars, making it an exciting team to watch in the IPL.

Current squad

Players with international experience are shown in bold. An asterisk (*) marks a player who cannot play right now.

Captains

Last updated: 10 May 2026

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Administration and support staff

Seasons

Indian Premier League

Champions League T20

Statistics

Main article: List of Delhi Capitals records

Impact Players

Ashutosh Sharma is the Impact Player for the team. Other players who might step in include Nitish Rana, Karun Nair, and Sameer Rizvi. They are all part of the 2026 season.